Heartland to present ‘rein in the EPA’ petition

The Heartland Institute has collected more than 15,000 signatures on a petition demanding Congress rein in a “rogue” Environmental Protection Agency. Sen. James Inhofe (R-OK) and The Heartland Institute will present the petitions to Congress at a public event in the Capitol Visitors Center in Washington, DC on Tuesday, November 27 at 11 a.m.

EPA was created in 1970 to protect the air, land, and waterways of the U.S. from harmful pollution. Thanks in part to the agency’s efforts, Americans today enjoy a vastly cleaner environment – the healthiest in the industrialized world. Yet over the years, EPA has become a rogue agency grasping for ever-more illegitimate power that does little or nothing to protect the environment.

According to Joseph Bast, president of The Heartland Institute, “The toll our EPA is taking on the country is staggering, putting hundreds of thousands of Americans out of work at a time when millions of people are unemployed and our reliance on foreign sources of energy threatens to compromise the nation’s security. More than 15,000 Americans have signed a petition demanding Congress rein in this rogue agency.”

According to Dr. Jay Lehr, science director of The Heartland Institute and a leading authority on water pollution and environmental protection, “EPA’s budget could safely be cut by 80 percent or more without endangering the environment or human health. Most of what EPA does today could be done better by state government agencies, many of which didn’t exist or had much less expertise back in 1970, when EPA was created.”

The petitions ask Congress to repeal EPA’s authority to regulate carbon dioxide in the name of “global warming” and demand cost-benefit analysis be applied to all environmental regulations. It also insists EPA reform its politicized and unreliable scientific research program and return to sound science and common sense.

The Heartland Institute is a 28-year-old national nonprofit organization headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Its mission is to discover, develop, and promote free-market solutions to social and economic problems. For more information, visit our Web site or call 312/377-4000.

Zero chance of success. The EPA is acting as a compliant replacement for Congress for the Administration. Any Bill that Congress will not pass, the Administration sends to EPA who enforce the same limits by creating a ‘regulation’.

Americans chose on November 6 to unleash the EPA. No chance of reining it in now. Elections have consequences. It’s going to have to get a whole lot worse before there is any hope of improvement. You are on your way to Greece and beyond.

I signed it. It matters not what its chances of success are. Remember, “All that is
necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.” The corollary would be that we should do whatever we can, whenever we can. The CAGW behemoth has, in many respects, already triumphed. The consequences for humanity, and of course for the USA, if CAGW holds complete sway are ghastly.

EPA’s current behaviour confirms Mary McCarthy observation, “Bureaucracy, the rule of no one, has become the modern form of despotism.”
It’s why Maurice Strong set up the IPCC through the UN bureaucracy of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) that in turn gave them control over the weather and environmental bureaucracies in almost every nation.

The simplest way to control bureaucracies like the EPA is to cut the funding. One hopes Congress has the political fortitude to do so because, as the bureaucrats know, they can outlast the politicians and also confront them as ‘experts’ in the science. The difficulty and effectiveness of the ‘experts’ challenge are underscored by the unwillingness of Courts to arbitrate on matters of science – as is the case in the recent and current legal challenges against the EPA.

From Coalsoffire on November 26, 2012 at 6:44 am:Americans chose on November 6 to unleash the EPA.

This American didn’t, and largely I don’t consider those who did to be “my fellow Americans”. Just look at the county-level election maps. A long-standing phenomenon in Pennsylvania, for Pennsylvania to vote Republican involves the rest of the state trying to overwhelm Philadelphia.

These Philly people are geographically separate. They’re in a dense urban area where they must depend on government for daily survival, and grow up there trusting government. There are special Philly-area taxes, all Pennsylvania businesses are supposed to collect those additional sales taxes from their residents. For practically all intents and purposes, they are a separate people unto themselves, their linkage to me is solely due to the governmental grouping of “state”.

I was not raised as, nor have I chosen to be, a resident of a large city. I am not of those people who accept their continuing existence comes from the largesse of government, which can be reliably depended on, and is to be expected. Those Americans chose to unleash the EPA, not my Americans.

The chance of success is slim, but it is not zero. The EPA can not increase it’s budget by regulation. The only reason the EPA has the authority to create regulations is because it was granted that authority by Congress. While it would likely require a veto override to be enacted durring the current administration (Possible in the House, extremely unlikely in the Senate) Congress could revoke the EPA’s regulatory authority.

I truly hope it works for you colonials, however this is how the new Post-Democratic society operates. One removes the people from the equation by creating a third-party” regulatory body like the EPA, claim it to be “politically independent” & thus free from apparent political interference from the President, the Senate, the HoReps, then fill it with likeminded people who will do your bidding in the name of the environment, appoint apparently “independent” people to prepare “independent” reports that say legislation must be introduced to protect…………..(fill whatever blanks you wish), afterall, who would seriously want to be seen to hate the fluffy cuddly polar bears & penguins?

First let’s examine the premise of the Hartland Institute: “Free market solutions to social and economic problems.” WTF????

Because…what?? there is no force like the “free market” to eliminate poverty, protect us from pollution, curb global warming, preserve public health, enforce workplace safety and ensure minority rights? BUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAA!!!!

So who actually believes that Budweiser is a “premium” beer??? Easily taken in by marketing claims, anyone???

The entire premise of the Heartland Institute is not just a false claim, it is an outrageous, baldfaced lie! It is a cover up for greater corporate influence over government for the sole purpose of profit.

When has the free market EVER solved any of the above problems???

The supposed free market simply allows billionaires and others with special access to government leaders the ability to craft laws solely in their own interest. We do not live in a free society — we live in a society for the rich, of the rich and by the rich.

(Check out Lcurve.org for more info on how this works.)

A very large number of those serving in Congress are millionaires. Does anyone reading this truly believe that any one individual has the power to do and create and become whatever they wish? Without rich and powerful connections? Without a good college education? Without friends in Congress? Without (as the Koch Bros. so *hypocritically* accept!) government subsidies?

If the myth that we all can achieve riches, success, high office, and leadership positions were true, every Mexican laborer, U.S. auto worker, Wal-Mart employee or garbage worker would be a billionaire, too.

Point being that we do NOT all have equal access to power, riches, health care, housing, legal aid and public safety. This is why the Affordable Health Care Act– so called ObamaCare–is so vital to helping equalize the playing field between rich and poor. The rich have far better access to health care than anyone burning under $100,000. The rich *especially* must support universal healthcare because they make their money off the backs of hard working poor who will never truly get ahead. The rich owe a great debt to society, including its poorest, weakest members for supporting their lifestyle.

And the governance that the Heartland institude would like to limit or remove is why we need the EPA–representing the people–to protect us from industry that would profit at the cost of our health, and that of the planet– upon which we ALL depend.

Perhaps the Institute is trying to use a divide and conquer strategy college: by separating the powers of the EPA, it will be far easier for local politicians to be bought and paid for by extremely rich corporations and billionaires. They can’t buy the EPA, but they may be able to buy hundreds and hundreds of local leaders. Then they will simply craft laws in their own favor and we will have a horrendous patch work of weak legislation across the nation against pollution. But it will more easily enrich pollution scofflaws and companies that massively pollute, like oil, coal, gas and chemical firms.

The connected “myth of the free market” issue–which overlaps the previous:

A “free market” enslaves everyone who does not control it. And certainly those with vast amounts of money control it more than regular people or any other group.

Don’t the autocratic, corrupt and constantly whining billionaire Koch brothers support the Heartland Institute? (It’s one of those by-the-rich, for-the-rich institutes falsely promoting freedom, anyway.) And didn’t they threaten to fire their employees if they voted for Obama? Is that not illegal, immoral and a symptom of fascism? In what possible way does that promote freedom???

Fourth issue–corruption and stupidity in government:

Why would anyone trust a bill put forward by James Inhofe, a politician so corrupt and stupid he is evil. He masterminded the sham, anti-science 2007 Congressional hearings that shut out actual climate scientists, and enlisted nonscientists and weathermen who made “official” proclamations on the nature of global warming. WTF???

The kind of moron who does that is the kind of moron who cites fireworks experts on nuclear weapons. Inhofe is a disgrace to our government, and to fair, decent, intelligent humans. He should be expelled or at the very least, censured, by Congress.

Fifth issue– listen to the scientists on global warming, not corrupt or ignorant politicians:

CO2 is obviously a pollutant in the closed sypersystem of our planet when it reaches levels that damage sybsystems of the planet. To state otherwise, despite all evidence, is like saying water causes no damage when over-consumed by a person. Actually, overconsuming water WILL kill you. And human overproduction has been essentially proven to be destroying our planet.

Make no mistake, human life is a subsystem in are planetary ecosystem. We are damaged directly by global warming and indirectly by every subsystem global warming helps to damage.

Last issue–the mismanagement of the Heartland Institute:

BTW, Heartland is having an auction. Members of Congress and leaders of government agencies –to the highest bidder!!

If it had the integrity to do anything constructive, the Heartland Institute should be protecting citizens from the rampant corruption in government, especially the revolving door between industry and government, focusing on the military-Conressional-industrial complex that respected conservative President Ike Eisenhower warned of.

This includes the collusion between the financial institutions who tanked our economy in the last 3 years, and Obama appointee Timothy Geitner, as well as Ben Bernanke. Those two are much too close the financial institutions they are supposed to help regulate and counterbalance.

For example, why have there been so few prosecutions in the financial industry after the depression of 082 presents? Yes, that is beyond the scope of this post, but it speaks to the general corruption supported by Inhofe and his pro-rich crony-style governance.

Thanks for that ‘cut and paste’ propaganda piece. It’s just a shame you took longer to post it up than I took to read the first few words and come to the conclusion it was a load of droolling crapola.
Please don’t come back!

Tshane3000 says:
“For example, why have there been so few prosecutions in the financial industry after the depression of 082 presents? Yes, that is beyond the scope of this post, but it speaks to the general corruption supported by Inhofe and his pro-rich crony-style governance.”

And the Democrats were in charge then and mostly in charge now and still no one has been prosecuted. So, you didn’t vote Democrat, did you? By the way, the the “depression” of 2008 was caused by government bureaucrats forcing banks to lend to those who could not afford it, since after all, everyone deserves to have their own house. It’s only “fair”. The pro-union, pro-government cronies will eventually make you wish for more free enterprise when they run out of other people’s money with which to buy votes. Wait, they already have! Well, they can always print more and steal it from everyone through inflation.

So government – your preferred all-powerful and all-capable and all-knowing economic engine of good and favorable outcomes for the world based on bureaucratic assumptions and bureaucratic power – is – by your admission! – utterly so corrupt (or incapable!) of eliminating even TWO people in the direct employ of your president who you claim are destroying the central banking and financial systems of the country?

So your government cannot even “reign in” two men you claim are corrupt who work in the same block as your bureaucratic empire, but it is to make economic decisions over the will of 50% of the people over 50 states?

When “your government” is wrong, who corrects it? How do they correct it?

What is to happen when YOU don’t like your government’s decisions? It seems obvious that “you” don’t care about my preferences and decisions. “You,” after all, demand that “I” submit to “your” preferences and decisions. What happens when “you” don’t like the government’s decisions and they carry “you” off to the mental institute? To the Katyn Forest? (For your own good, of course.)

Your socialists have murdered 120 millions of innocents (and guilties) in the past 90 years. The first they kill are “your” elite brethren …

Free markets have done more to eliminate poverty than all of your beloved social programs combined. Furthermore, free markets generate the funds required to address the other problems you mentioned. Most of those problems would be far worse in the absence of free markets.

The golden goose may need some tending, but killing it would be just plain stupid.

“CO2 is obviously a pollutant in the closed sypersystem of our planet when it reaches levels that damage sybsystems of the planet. To state otherwise, despite all evidence, is like saying water causes no damage when over-consumed by a person. Actually, overconsuming water WILL kill you. And human overproduction has been essentially proven to be destroying our planet.”

I see a modicum of basic English is too much to hope for in such diatribe.

There is a environmental organization in Bozeman MT called the Property and Environmental Research Center (PERC) that works environmental issues via a combination of enhanced property rights and free market solutions. They have been reasonably successful in the Western US and demonstrate a way out of the endless do-loop of environmental arguments and big government solutions to them posed by our most recent concern troll. Worth your while to take a look at. Cheers –

Pournelle’s Iron Law of Bureaucracy states that in any bureaucratic organization there will be two kinds of people”:

First, there will be those who are devoted to the goals of the organization. Examples are dedicated classroom teachers in an educational bureaucracy, many of the engineers and launch technicians and scientists at NASA, even some agricultural scientists and advisors in the former Soviet Union collective farming administration.

Secondly, there will be those dedicated to the organization itself. Examples are many of the administrators in the education system, many professors of education, many teachers union officials, much of the NASA headquarters staff, etc.

The Iron Law states that in every case the second group will gain and keep control of the organization. It will write the rules, and control promotions within the organization.

I read the petition and agreed with several points, but certainly can’t agree with “sea ice in the Arctic is rebounding.” May be a minor point, but I’m an old-fashioned dude who won’t sign something unless I fully believe in all that is written. I hope the effort leads to some constructive changes…

SamG says:
November 27, 2012 at 3:58 am
“I’ll only go along with this if Heartland do a segment entitled ‘Rein in the U.S. military’.”

It is our military strength along with our free enterprise system and relative transparency, which give our currency its strength since it is backed by nothing else and we are in debt as badly as Greece and still heading south. To “rein in the military” will also rein in lots of jobs not to mention, make our existence much more dangerous. Not to say that some improvement in spending efficiencies could not be had as to how we spend our military dollars and whom we defend.

says: “…The supposed free market simply allows billionaires and others with special access to government leaders the ability to craft laws solely in their own interest. We do not live in a free society — we live in a society for the rich, of the rich and by the rich. …”

Tshane. Some of what you say may even be true.

But none of it shows why you think the EPA is your friend or how it will help you.